I've been seeing more and more threads lately about people not having success with IM and wanted to talk about luck vs. skill. In a broad sense, we are all lucky to even have the ability to try to make money online. 10 years ago the IM landscape was completely different. It's a pretty cool idea to even have a chance to sit in front of a computer and turn it into an ATM.
So let's talk about luck vs. skill, or expand that even further and include luck vs. effort too. A skill doesn't have to be some tangible thing like a diploma saying you're qualified in a certain area. It doesn't have to be that you know how to build websites, be good at SEO or create your own tools. Sure, it helps but isn't a prerequisite to you succeeding. Having any IM related skill is important but isn't the first part of getting something going. If you're just starting out and feel you're lacking in a lot of skills, don't shy away from challenging the world of IM...that's where luck and effort come into play for you. Although I've been in the game for over 7 years, I myself, lack technical skills and just outsource most of it.
The two main ingredients on whether you're going to succeed will be luck and effort. I want to talk about effort first. Effort isn't just repeating the same unsuccessful things and assuming it will eventually work after enough trials. It's looking for variations, adaptations and implementing different approaches to whatever you're doing. Effort is thinking outside-the-box and not just reading what someone said would work but actually using their information as a guide for you to come up with brand new ideas to think for yourself. Effort is inspiration, imagination, passion and being persistent. Effort doesn't have timelines. Let's say someone put in just as much effort as you have but is now killing it while you're still grinding away trying to make your first dollar. Well, that's where luck comes into play.
When I use the word "luck" in the context of IM, I'm not using it as a negative connotation. Luck is something we've all experienced on one level or another. Like I said, luck doesn't have a time-table nor a random number generator like a slot machine. You don't hit the luck jackpot. Luck is a circumstance that is predicated mostly from the effort you have put forth and the awareness of your situation. In other words, you need to put forth enough effort in order for you to be in a position to be lucky. You need to know what the possibilities are and what gives you the best chances for success. Just like you won't hit a luck jackpot, you can't keep doing the same unsuccessful things and hope the luck fairy will magically change your conversions, clicks, rankings, etc... That's where testing comes into play with your campaign, project or whatever.
I have had a ton of lucky spots I've been in but none of those have been due to just luck alone. It was putting myself in a position (from effort) to get lucky and being aware of the situations/opportunities that were presented to me which I capitalized on. Without understanding those lucky spots, I would have missed them completely. Of course, there is always blind luck that some people just fall into money making opportunities without even knowing what happened. Those are few and far between. Luck is an intangible asset. Put yourself in situations to be aware of it via effort and you won't consider it luck at all.
So let's talk about luck vs. skill, or expand that even further and include luck vs. effort too. A skill doesn't have to be some tangible thing like a diploma saying you're qualified in a certain area. It doesn't have to be that you know how to build websites, be good at SEO or create your own tools. Sure, it helps but isn't a prerequisite to you succeeding. Having any IM related skill is important but isn't the first part of getting something going. If you're just starting out and feel you're lacking in a lot of skills, don't shy away from challenging the world of IM...that's where luck and effort come into play for you. Although I've been in the game for over 7 years, I myself, lack technical skills and just outsource most of it.
The two main ingredients on whether you're going to succeed will be luck and effort. I want to talk about effort first. Effort isn't just repeating the same unsuccessful things and assuming it will eventually work after enough trials. It's looking for variations, adaptations and implementing different approaches to whatever you're doing. Effort is thinking outside-the-box and not just reading what someone said would work but actually using their information as a guide for you to come up with brand new ideas to think for yourself. Effort is inspiration, imagination, passion and being persistent. Effort doesn't have timelines. Let's say someone put in just as much effort as you have but is now killing it while you're still grinding away trying to make your first dollar. Well, that's where luck comes into play.
When I use the word "luck" in the context of IM, I'm not using it as a negative connotation. Luck is something we've all experienced on one level or another. Like I said, luck doesn't have a time-table nor a random number generator like a slot machine. You don't hit the luck jackpot. Luck is a circumstance that is predicated mostly from the effort you have put forth and the awareness of your situation. In other words, you need to put forth enough effort in order for you to be in a position to be lucky. You need to know what the possibilities are and what gives you the best chances for success. Just like you won't hit a luck jackpot, you can't keep doing the same unsuccessful things and hope the luck fairy will magically change your conversions, clicks, rankings, etc... That's where testing comes into play with your campaign, project or whatever.
I have had a ton of lucky spots I've been in but none of those have been due to just luck alone. It was putting myself in a position (from effort) to get lucky and being aware of the situations/opportunities that were presented to me which I capitalized on. Without understanding those lucky spots, I would have missed them completely. Of course, there is always blind luck that some people just fall into money making opportunities without even knowing what happened. Those are few and far between. Luck is an intangible asset. Put yourself in situations to be aware of it via effort and you won't consider it luck at all.
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